Mannington Commercial sponsors Design Local

Posted Date:
2/7/2013

[Calhoun, Ga.] Mannington Commercial has joined with teams of architects and interior designers in Austin, Texas, Chicago, Ill., Washington, D.C. and San Francisco to create four flooring collections inspired by the unique spirit of each cities.

The teams have posted their collections at manningtondesignlocal.com where the final prize winning project will be selected entirely by online voting.

"As product manufacturers, we have always been interested in finding new ways to connect with the A & D community. In particular, we love to find ways to engage designers in product design," said Natalie Jones, vice president of brand development and creative product at Mannington Commercial. "We were captivated by the idea that a large company could create a platform to support local design, with an emphasis on how design reflects and contributes to the communities where creative people live and work."

This idea led the company to launch Design Local, a new product collaboration program, where Mannington partnered with professional designers from different firms in the four cities, tapping their creativity to capture and translate the unique spirit of their hometown. During a 24-hour design immersion, the teams fanned out into each of their cities in search of ideas and inspiration – then worked as a team to create themes and concepts for a collection. In the weeks since, the teams have collaborated with Mannington's product designers and colorists to develop their sketches, photography and artifacts into coordinating patterns.

"As the teams shared their perspectives and inspirations, it was remarkable to see common themes come to the surface, and evolve," said Jones. "This gave us, as manufacturers, a remarkable opportunity to participate in the designers' creative process, and for them to participate in ours. Seeing the individuals talents come together as teams was an incredible experience, and has given birth to four remarkable and beautiful collections."

Voting is open until February 25, 2013. The winning team will be announced the next day; their collection featured in Mannington's showroom at NeoCon 2013.